At the close of Salmon Forever's turbidity sampling season for Hydrologic Year 2004, over 1100 samples were collected from eight Humboldt Bay watershed monitoring sites for processing at our Sunny Brae Sediment Lab. Thanks to financial support from Cereus Fund and Trees Foundation, our current monitoring sites and laboratory are now fully equipped and operational.
As a result, Salmon Forever is now able to enter the planning stage for a second continuous monitoring station in Freshwater Creek. This will enable us to capture sediment inputs from the three major tributaries in the lower half of the basin and help complete the sediment profile for the Freshwater watershed.
We anticipate a grant from the Water Quality Control Board administered through Redwood Community Action Agency, which would make it possible for Salmon Forever to produce reports quantifying the last two years' sediment loads and chronic turbidity in Freshwater Creek and Elk River. Both watersheds provide important habitat for the last few self-sustaining wild Coho salmon in California, both are officially listed as sediment impaired, and both continue to pose serious flood and sedimentation risks to wildlife habitat and human property. Sediment transport and accumulation will be correlated with flood risk. Acute and chronic turbidity will be correlated with salmon morbidity and mortality.
Salmon Forever consultation, data, and protocols continue to be used in Water Quality's Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDL) process, and in RCAA's Coordinated Turbidity/Suspended Monitoring Project for Humboldt Bay. In addition, Clark Fenton, Salmon Forever's Sunny Brae Sediment Lab director, has provided many educational and technical services to the community this year. These include presentations for conferences and symposiums for Humboldt State University and Redwood National Park, technical support and lab services to help resolve TMDL issues in Mendocino County's Garcia River, and equipment provided for a U.C. Berkeley study of temporary turbidity increases from restoration operations.
Over five years of turbidity/suspended sediment data from Salmon Forever has corroborated levels far above lawful thresholds for our sediment-impaired watersheds. Recent scientific reports cited cumulative effects of industrial logging as the greatest causal factor and reduction in harvest rates as the only action certain to initiate the process of watershed recovery. However, in spite of widespread reporting and participation by Salmon Forever in regulatory decision-making processes, there has been no action to reduce harvest rates and prevent further, ultimately irreparable damage to salmon. The perception of Humboldt County's economic dependence on the timber industry has been the primary impediment.
Salmon Forever believes that in order to protect and bring back salmon, it is essential for Humboldt County to move away from unsustainable large-scale resource extraction industries, reduce sources of pollution which threaten critical habitat, and to move toward a non-polluting energy infrastructure and good jobs that restore the environment and build community.
Toward that end Salmon Forever is working with economists, scientists, community planners, and its partners, the Humboldt Watershed Council and the Breakthrough Institute (www.thebreakthrough.org), to create and promote an economic vision for Humboldt County that focuses on sustainable fishing, agriculture, forestry and clean, non-fossil fuel energy. Primary in its implementation would be a proactive campaign to support local businesses and invite carefully selected new industries that would promote our long-term economic and environmental well-being.
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TOC for Forest & River News, Summer 2004